


Do You Remem8er Me?

by lasciviousWildheart



Series: Infinity Mechanism [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 01:23:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7824739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasciviousWildheart/pseuds/lasciviousWildheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Probably a one-shot, this is a sequence I imagined set some time after the other pieces in this series. There's a couple other things like this I'll likely post later, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do You Remem8er Me?

The metal bunker is rusted and worn from the sheer force of time you--the Gods of this world--put it through. It crumples and gives easily under a single strong kick from your leg, collapses to the ground with a deafening, echoing clang. 

You all stand there, on the overgrown grass, feeling the cool breeze. The sun hangs low in the sky, still closer to morning than to afternoon. Jade does a little hop and a Yeah!!!, and Roxy gives you a thumbs up and a nice. Roxy is wearing a pink-black dress with laces and strings at the shoulders, and long black leggings. Jade is wearing a black suit that turns into...well, something at the hips. Your eyes start to hurt if you look at it too closely. 

Next to them, Dave and Karkat react with no reaction. Karkat shifts a little uncomfortably though, his grip on Holmes Smell Ya Later on edge and uncertain. They’re both in their god tier outfits because Dave is lazy and trolls, apparently, think fashion is stupid.

JADE: alright lets do this!! everybody ready!?   
JAKE: Right as rain jade, you bet i am!!!   


He strikes a pose that puts crotch first as he makes a show of cocking his Berettas. It’s never a bore watching Jake English enjoy himself. He’s wearing a tiny little yellow jacket over his tight black shirt, his strong arms exposed to the wind. His booty shorts are, if anything, a couple inches higher up his leg than usual, and when he moves its really, really hard not to watch the sultry up and down of his ass. 

Jake had more or less decided to retire the old emerald terror, adopting his Hope colors into his regular outfits more evenly. His black undershirt has a small hope insignia on the chest pocket, and his color scheme evokes more “Robin gone grimdark and hot” than “Green arrow turned James Bond”. Which suits you perfectly, and flatters him quite a lot--not that that’s saying much, since on Jake a large pair of salamander-styled crocs would look flattering. 

Your own outfit matches his somewhat. You went for simple: black wifebeater, black cargo pants, black sneakers. The better to hide in the dark with, even if you’re betraying practicality for your orange hat on your chest. Can’t have a shirt without a hat on it. Your smuppet ass dog tags match Jake’s smuppet nose ones, both of which you make sure to keep under your shirts since you know they make Dave uncomfortable. And, uh, most people, you guess.  
You think they’re cute, though.

ROXY: just make sure u dont shoot any of us with your mangrit hailstorm buddy :P  
ROXY: fingers off the trigger until you take the shot!  
JAKE: I’m insulted, rox. How could you suggest i have anything but the most respectable gun etiquette??   
ROXY: lmao fair enuff.   
ROXY: not like it matts anyway i doubt this’ll involve any kinda rustle at all   
ROXY: its been like  
ROXY: LITERAL fckin eons yo  
ROXY: even bwitch shit probably cant survive that long   
DIRK: Maybe, but I’d still rather we don’t get complacent.   
DIRK: Keep your rifle ready.  
ROXY: eeeehh whatever dad, fine   
ROXY: only cuz youre so charmingly boring about this rad adventure tho ;)  
DIRK: Thanks.  
DAVE: speaking of being ready  
DAVE: karkat are you really sure about this   
DAVE: i mean im sure nothings gonna happen but i thought i would ask   
KARKAT: FUCK OFF, DAVE. I’M SURE I CAN HANDLE THIS COMPLETELY MUNDANE AND HARMLESS FIELD TRIP, BUT THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME HOW COMPLETELY USELESS I AM IN A FIGHT AGAIN!  
KARKAT: SERIOUSLY THIS’LL BE FINE, AND HAVING MY LONG TERM UTILITY LAID OUT FOR ME AS AN ENDLESS HELL OF MAKING IDIOTS BUMP HEADS LONG ENOUGH FOR SOCIETY TO FUNCTION IS GREAT AND ALL   
KARKAT: BUT WHAT IF THERE’S EVER A SERIOUS FIGHT OR SOMETHING?  
KARKAT: I SHOULD MAKE AT LEAST *SOME* ATTEMPT AT FIGURING OUT WHAT I’M CAPABLE OF, EVEN IF IT’S REALLY STUPID LIKE FUCKING MAKING SOMEONE’S HEART BEAT A LITTLE TOO FAST.   
DAVE: well we already know you can do that   
ROXY: LOL  
KARKAT: FUCK! DON’T SAY SHIT LIKE THAT IN PUBLIC, JESUS CHRIST.  
JADE: but its so cute! You guys are adorawoofble Σ:D  
DAVE: see the crowd loves us get over it  
DIRK: Are we going on this sick fish empress tomb raid, or what?   
DIRK: Come on, Jake. Looks like we’re gonna have to teach these kids how to adventure.   
JAKE: After you, bro!   


You stalk into the dark, sword at the ready, and Jake follows with his guns pointing at the angles he knows function as your blind spots. You don't wait to see who followed because you don't particularly need anyone else watching your back, so it catches you off guard when Jade skips up to meet your pace, her rifle loose in her grip.

JADE: hehehe pretty smooth, bro!  
JADE: you really saved us, i cant ever get dave and karkat to shut up once they get started >_>;;  
DIRK: I didn’t really try. I just figured they’d catch up.  
DIRK: Not to be condescending, but aren’t you kinda more of a long range fighter?  
DIRK: You should hang out with Jake, make sure we don’t get flanked.   
JADE: wow jeez you are a really serious guy huh :/  
JADE: it’s fine! this place is huge, this hallway is just a tiny entrance  
JADE: nothing’s going to just JUMP OUT at us up here  
JADE: and besides, i have a lot more vision than you in the dark!  
JADE: trust me dirk, where positioning and placement is concerned, i’m simply the best there is ;)  
JADE: besides! we never get the chance to talk, and jake is practically vibrating back there he’s so excited. i’ve been wanting to get to know you, too!  
DIRK: Oh. Well, fair enough.   
DIRK: So. How long until we reach this cache point you identified?  
JADE: um…not long, there’s an elevator shaft we can fly down that’ll take us almost right to it if its empty  
JADE: but wow you are really bad at small talk!  
DIRK: Sorry. Focus is kind of a character trait for me.   
JADE: no i understand, i’ll leave you alone if you want.  
JADE: but jake is going to be really disappointed :(   


She shakes you out of your mindset effortlessly, and you’re sure she did it on purpose.  
You like Jade a lot, actually. A lot of that is probably that Jake adores her and you like anything that makes him happy that isn’t a shitty movie, but the fact that she knows how to totally own you while she’s just trying to get to know you a little adds rather than subtracts to her charm--the girl’s sharp as a whip. 

She’s right, too. If not a moment like now, when would you ever? Her black hair curled and sprawled to her waist, and it occurred to you you had no idea what the hell was going on with that outfit she was wearing. Jake wasn’t known for exceptionally practical adventuring clothing, and you couldn’t deny you enjoyed the ample bare skin he liked to expose. It must to some extent run in the family. You liked this outfit too, but in a completely different way--it’s just so out there you can’t help but be impressed. 

It occurs to you that for all the two of you know about each other, you’re effectively perfect strangers. Maybe you really should let her take point and try harder--it’s her expedition, after all.

DIRK: Fair enough. I like your skirt, by the way.  
DIRK: ...If it’s a skirt, I guess?  
DIRK: Either way, very anime.   
JADE: it is a skirt, and thanks! :D i love this one and i figured dressing in black would be an advantage  
JADE: you like anime???  
DIRK: Not really. Well, some anime, I guess. It’s pretty cool sometimes, you know what I mean?  
JADE: yeah! i’m the same way.   
JADE: so what do you like then? :o   
DIRK: Oh, you know. Robotics, greek philosophy, pornograhy.  
JADE: jake’s ass? :p  
DIRK: Ahahaha, God I’m transparent. Yes, absolutely Jake’s ass.   
DIRK: You got me good there. 10/10.   
JADE: sooo...pornography, really? isn’t that kind of...embarassing? :s   
DIRK: Not at all. It’s sociologically fascinating that we often think so, however.  
DIRK: At the end of the day, body language is just another kind of language.  
DIRK: And like any language there’s nuances and truths you can only express in that particular tongue.   
DIRK: In my experience those truths tend to be pretty cosmic and all-encompassing, in a way that resembles the aforementioned bearded men’s wonderings at the nature of reality.   
JADE: o:   
DIRK: You can tell a lot about the kind of person someone is by the kind of sex they’re interested in exploring, conceptually.  
DIRK: How they feel about themselves, the norms their societies shaped them by, what they define as ‘normal’, ‘weird’, ‘moral’, or otherwise.   
DIRK: Or whether they’re even interested in that particular living experience at all.   
DIRK: It’s just people acting like the animals they are, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.   
DIRK: Any one of the animal species on Earth could’ve developed to our level and reached the heights on which we now stand.  
DIRK: Instinctual desire doesn’t have to undermine the nobility of reason in practice. You can learn a lot about the one from the other--like two sides of the same coin.   
JADE: um...woah :O  
DIRK: Sorry, is this weird? I can’t tell if I’m making you uncomfortable.  
JADE: no no no this is fine! its just  
JADE: jake was right. theres really nothing like listening to one of your speeches O_O  
JADE: you kind of remind me of dave a lot, he used to joke and talk about sex a ton too  
JADE: but with him it always seemed like mostly fake joking around?  
JADE: you also sound like rose in that you really know what you’re talking about   
DIRK: I’ll try not to puff up too much from the flattery.  
JADE: AND because she cant ever just take a compliment for ANYTHING >:(  
JADE: i didnt quite follow everything just yet but you have some really interesting ideas about it that i think i agree with!  
JADE: hehe maybe thats why i was always so into furries growing up :B  
DIRK: Furries, huh? I guess that explains the dog ears.  
JADE: you don’t like them?  
DIRK: No, they’re cute. I just could never relate to the idea of them all that experientially.  
DIRK: Furries were definitely fascinating from an anthropological perspective, but I guess it’s just hard to see the appeal when you’ve never actually felt stuff like fur or whatever.  
DIRK: The only animals I’d ever seen growing were like, fish, and seagulls.   
DIRK: And the fish were pretty scarce. I did like horses though. Horses are cool  
JADE: ...thats the saddest thing i ever heard, the coolness of horses notwithstanding :(   
JADE: there was wildlife all over my island! a lot less lethal than jake’s, too.   
JADE: it was so beautiful and alive...i still miss it. and of course i had bec.  
DIRK: It’s still so easy to forget you’re basically a first guardian.  
DIRK: It’s just such a ridiculously mind-boggling fact.  
DIRK: Like how do I ever try to get to know any of the people in this new universe knowing at some point I’ll have to be like,  
DIRK: Oh yeah by the way my boyfriends hot teen grandma? Sometimes she can teleport all over the entire universe. She’s basically god, and also a werewolf girl. With a gun.   
DIRK: I’ve even heard reports her power levels may be over 9000.   
JADE: dirk that is a really shitty meme   
DIRK: Obviously. I shouldn’t have to explain the irony.  
JADE: ooooh boy ok whatever :P  
JADE: its not like im weird in that respect!   
JADE: we can all do all sorts of super weird and cool stuff  
JADE: dont jakes powers basically involve him being able to do LITERALLY ANYTHING?  
DIRK: Sure, but he still doesn’t have access to them all that often.  
DIRK: You pull shit like that off like you’re taking yourself out on a morning walk.  
JADE: ew dude gross :( you really are daves brother huh  
DIRK: I suppose that’s what we average out to. I hadn’t really thought of it that way.   
JADE: that’s a lie :/  
DIRK: Damn. You’re good.   
JADE: dave was never all that great at lying either  
JADE: eventually you just get a sense for when cool dudes are bad at hiding something i guess :P   
JADE: not that you have anything to hide! i dont see why youd bother i think of jake as grandpa all the time  
JADE: it’s so interesting contrasting the differences and similarities :o  
DIRK: That’s true. Speaking of which, I hope you won’t find me too predictable for being curious, but.  
DIRK: What was he like? Your grandpa, I mean.  
JADE: hahaha that was pretty predictable :B  
DIRK: Shit.   
JADE: but its ok! i really dont mind i think its cute :D  
JADE: i used to think of jake as my grandson too--i thought he was from the future.   
JADE: and he always sounded kind of lonely in his letters…  
JADE: im glad he had someone who cared so much. not just you, either, jane and roxy and calliope too!   
JADE: you’re all so close, its kind of adorable :o  
DIRK: Well. Maybe once. I’m still hoping our group dynamic recovers to match what it used to be, but we all seem to be back on good terms individually.  
DIRK: It’s just a matter of getting used to each other again, I guess.  
DIRK: Or, for the first time, since we never had Calliope as part of our group dynamic before.   
DIRK: It’s cool though. She’s awesome.   
JADE: yeah!   
DIRK: At the risk of getting into a tangent, not to mention doubling back into pornographic subject matter.  
DIRK: If you’re legitimately curious about that stuff, you should help me sweet talk her into giving up her fanfics.   
JADE: fanfics???? O:  
DIRK: According to her, she grew up reading records of our lives, remember? She was invested in us as characters before we all became friends, and in a sense she continued to regard us that way even as we got to know each other, growing up.   
JADE: hmmmm :o  
DIRK: Once I asked her if she ever wrote stories about us, and she said yes. She even admitted to some of them being of a...rather intimate nature.  
DIRK: She turned me down when I asked to read them. I asked again a little while ago, but she’s still embarrassed. I have to admit, I’m extremely curious about it.   
DIRK: She claims I wouldn’t even be able to follow what’s going on, which implies to me some sort of bizarre alien mating ritual. How the fuck can I resist?   
JADE: ummm….i’ll agree it sounds like fun to read! but i dunno, i wouldn’t want her to feel like we’re making fun of her… :c  
DIRK: I don’t want to make fun of her. I want to understand her better, that’s all.   
DIRK: I guess I just don’t have the delicate touch it takes to put a girl at ease like that.   
JADE: hahahah you are an interesting kind of guy, dirk :P   
DIRK: It’s what I strive for.   
DIRK: But I have to insist on screeching the subject in a different direction again, leaving skid marks in our wake and making a nearby dog go deaf from the sick friction our tires are getting. I was really just handing you the tip, and I really do want to know.   
DIRK: You were going to talk about your grandfather?   
JADE: oh yeah sorry hurr!!   
JADE: grandpa was… amazing :o  
JADE: he was an adventurer, entrepreneur and genius polymath, and my hero.   
JADE: ...maybe literally?  
JADE: i’m not SURE about this but i always suspected he may have been iron man. >_>;;  
JADE: i mean, he HAD the suit.  
DIRK: Wow. What?   
JADE: but thats not even close to describing how awesome he actually was!  
JADE: he made skaianet and distributed sburb, on our planet :o  
JADE: its safe to say we got into the game due to his work more than anything, i think.   
JADE: rose thinks her mom worked with him too which seems likely but i dont really know.  
JADE: either way...they didn’t stop there.  
JADE: they distributed sburb worldwide to try and save as many people as possible.  
JADE: i have no idea if it worked but i want to believe it did.  
JADE: he was...amazing.  
DIRK: Yeah. It sounds like he was.   
JADE: but also...i always got the sense he was really lonely.  
JADE: he died when i was really little but the more i talk to you guys the more thats my impression of him overall which is really sad :(   
JADE: he was very...odd.  
DIRK: Consider me shocked. I’m utterly floored by this stunning revelation.  
JADE: haha shhh!! :p  
JADE: he collected a lot of stuff   
JADE: dead things and mummies and monsters and hunting trophies but also paintings of blue ladies for some reason???   
DIRK: That sounds like Jake.   
JADE: yep, i’ve gathered >_>;; let’s… not talk about it too loudly or he might try to get us to watch avatar again  
DIRK: I’ll do anything possible to avert such a fate for us.  
JADE: thanks. oh and he also collected suits of armor, like of knights and stuff   
DIRK: Huh. I mean, I guess Jake likes those.  
JADE: oh i dunno...i used to think they were for wearing or at least for admiring  
JADE: but the more i talk to you the more i feel like…  
DIRK: Like?   
JADE: before he died, grandpa liked to hang out with some house guests  
DIRK: Uh, alright?  
JADE: but they weren’t alive. they were just these big dummies dressed up in ridiculous outfits. i never thought much of them growing up!   
JADE: i dont really remember them now, just that...there were specifically four of them.  
DIRK: …  
JADE: i really dont know anything for sure, its just memories from when i was basically a baby  
JADE: but i think he missed you guys. i think maybe being around some things reminded him of you, is all.   


You try to absorb the image of Jake, an old man, alone and missing you. It’s sad, but it doesn’t take, exactly--maybe because you have a hard time with the idea of being worth missing. But against your better judgment you let your thoughts linger on Dave’s Bro, try to imagine what it would be like to live a lifetime without Jake or Jane or Roxy. The thought makes you sick to your stomach, and you turn away from Jade, hoping you won’t end up showing weakness on your first outing together. You’d rather not embarrass yourself.

JADE: oh, we’re here!  


You got so absorbed in thought, you almost walked right into the elevator shaft. Jade puts her hand on your shoulder to stop you and you practically hear Jake jump in the background. A flash of annoyance strikes through you. Sure, she was all about location and placement, but that didn’t mean you had to let yourself get one-upped like that. You would’ve caught it if you were paying attention. The Harley-Strider prankster’s gambit obliviously ticks several notches in her direction, even though you’re the only one keeping track. 

She looks down the shaft and mutters disgruntledly. Jake comes up behind you and puts his hand on your other shoulder, grinning so wide you’d think it was simultaneously his birthday and christmas, which goes a long way to making you feel better. You hear Roxy, Karkat and Dave whispering excitedly, shouting and muttering respectively. They bumble up behind Jake, and suddenly you’re all ready.

JADE: it’s kind of too dark for me to see all the way down there  
JADE: we’d better be careful in case theres anything dangerous! but just float above me and we should be fine  
JADE: i wish we could get some light in here though   
ROXY: iii mb can help with that :3c  
ROXY: the seductive and mysterious interloper said as she cracked her knux & did a totally hot pose   
ROXY: chek dis out  


Roxy holds out her hands and focuses. Black gathers around her, drawn into her from the walls and the elevator and the air between. from everything. It’s not so much that she lightens the room up, it’s more like she lowers the opacity on everything, like in an art program. Suddenly everything is whitewashed and translucent, but it works--even you can see the bottom of the elevator shaft now.

DIRK: Holy shit. Good job.  
JADE: woah yeah how did you DO THAT? :O  
ROXY: heheh its nbd just some voidey shit is all   
KARKAT: YOU’D THINK MAYBE SOMEDAY I’D STOP FOR A SECOND AND JUST ABSORB THE RIDICULOUS FEATS OF DESTRUCTION THAT GIRLS ARE PERPETUALLY PERFORMING ON THE FUNDAMENTAL RULES OF REALITY ALL AROUND ME.  
KARKAT: BUT NO! IT NEVER SINKS IN. IT NEVER FEELS LIKE ANYTHING BUT COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE AND WEIRDLY BANAL AT THIS POINT.   
DAVE: yeah i know what you mean   
DAVE: whatever shits weird, rox is awesome, what else is new.  
JAKE: Hehehehe thats our roxy!   


He says it with a note of personal pride. _Our_ Roxy, like she was a gift you were presenting to the rest of them. Which you suppose in a way she was, at least at first. It was only once you started really interacting with Dave and the other new kids that you realized the bizarre, unique bond you would always share with what the wider group had come to call “The Alphas”. The simple fact was that all of you belonged to each other, even as in weird ways you also belonged to other particular persons of interest. Jake for Jade, you for Dave, other familial relationships growing in strength rapidly. 

Weird, and potent, yes. But still different. Nothing could ever quite match the texture of the love the four of you had. It was unique.

Jade takes a step, then falls, then keeps falling softly--like gravity bends to her whims instead of the other way around, which is the actual fact of it. You follow, then Jake and Roxy. Dave and Karkat follow behind. 

She stops at a door that was torn ajar brutally, by what looks like some kind of claws. You sure hope whatever did this is gone by now. The odds are surely in your favor there, right? You wish Rose was here, though you’d never admit that.

JADE: ummm...well this is it, guys   


Because of course it is. You sigh and float inside. 

 

There’s enormous glass tubes here--mostly broken open. Ectobiology labs, most likely for one of her multitudes of experimental weapon projects. Inlaid into the far wall is what looks like a black screen, and under that a bizarre, heaving thing of white flesh and metal. Something about it makes you nervous--you don’t even know if it’s a living thing, but this was the Empress’ place, and you don’t like anything in here. 

You try not to think about the fact that it had been, before that, a place for your people. Roxy’s Mom, your Bro. She raided it and destroyed everything useful they tried to salvage, you’re certain of it. You’re also certain she did everything possible to make it twisted and wrong. But you couldn’t help wanting something, wanting anything, that would tell you a little more about Bro, and you knew Roxy was the same way--it was the whole reason you were out here. If you scored genetic samples to help you all repopulate the wildlife, that would be neat, but really just a consolation prize. 

Roxy was thinking quite a lot like you were, and it showed. Her rifle was drawn and she was suddenly tense and angry. She’d killed the sea hag herself and it still wasn’t good enough--you could relate, and it brought a deadly sort of smirk to your lips. You walked up to her and Jake followed behind, hands pointing at every nook between the test tubes, checking for threats. His thoroughness impressed you, and you felt a surge of pride. In a regular session you really would all have been awesome together, but maybe it’s better that the game forced you to focus on other stuff.

JADE: so this place was originally like, dave and rose’s, right…?  
DAVE: should i be expecting to come across my own sweet loot  
DAVE: man i hope grown up superstar alt universe me made some hidden sbahj movies to stash, im sure i would have  
DIRK: I can only dream of such luck. Don’t get my hopes up.   
DAVE: dude you are way too excited about those shitposts it makes me worry   
DIRK: A lifetime is a long time to hone your craft, Dave. You should stop selling yourself short like that.   
JAKE: i do have to agree his films were quite spectacular!  
ROXY: lmao can we not start the sbahj wars here  
ROXY: listen im gonna shoot that thing and make sure its not gonna do some surprise ambush bullshit   
JADE: yeah thats a good idea, i will too  
JAKE: alright ill help out as well then!   


They move off to opposite ends of the hall, making as sure as possible they can’t all be targeted. Immediately Dave grows quiet, and you can practically see the clockwork ticking in his head, devising options, contingency plans, ways to loop back around and keep everyone as safe as possible. You’re making similar determinations as you consider where to stand to give you optimal reach if you need to intercept projectiles headed at them. 

 

You’re all good at this. Very good. Karkat stands there, fidgety and uncertain. Whatever, as far as you were concerned--you all needed him more than anyone when it came to just surviving your own banal lives. This was the easy part. He was starting to understand that, but you could feel for someone with the desire to prove themselves. 

You heard the familiar, comforting sound of Jake’s hands tightening around the barrels of his guns with perfect clarity. The sounds of Roxy and Jade doing the same were new, but similarly satisfying. This would go fine. 

Bullets rain down on the thing in a storm, pelt it and toss it. Blood or oil or something splashes the wall behind it, but it doesn’t move or react. Eventually, they stop shooting, and it’s a mess of dark purple blood. It occurs to you that if Roxy hadn’t done her voidey thing you probably wouldn’t have even seen it. 

You have a second to be satisfied with yourself before the things’ tentacle is wrapped around Dave’s chest. 

He swears loudly and equips his sword to his hand, tries to bite through it but the blade sinks deep into white flesh. The thing is soundless but slithering upwards, waking up, assembling itself. It’s hind legs are massive white claws that look stretchy and springy, and you realize those claw marks were from it getting in. From somewhere else in this shithole, maybe? 

Karkat screams in terror as the thing snatches Dave up and away from the rest of you just as what must be it’s head unfolds from the sacks and lumps of white flesh that serve as it’s tattered, punctured body. You hear Jade’s voice, a loud SHIT that would be funny under different circumstances. Jake is pounding bullets directly into the tentacle holding Dave aloft, Karkat already running towards it sickle up. 

You watch it. It’s head is mechanical, a single dull red eye blinking and humming to life, observing Dave with cool disinterest. Something heavy and metal seems to fall out of it through the almost liquid folds of flesh, and you realize that it’s some kind of metal syringe being unveiled. It draws Dave closer and you really don’t want to know what that thing is capable of. 

Roxy and Jade adjust positions and help Jade shoot at the tentacle, trying to break, trying to sever. The thing is fucking durable, it seems like white flesh goops and slides and flows over the wounds they put into it in nauseating ways. That wasn’t going to work no matter how much they did it. You try to move towards Dave or at least towards the needle, then realize the thing has a back tail or tentacle or something and it’s whipping fast towards Karkat and Jake, aiming to take the legs off both of them. 

You leap at Karkat, pull him along with you by the cape as you land on a test tube and kick hard over to Jake’s side of the hall just barely in time to lift him by the neck of his shirt and ensure a miss on the monster’s part. The tentacle whips into the bottom of a test tube and shatters it with the inertia, sending it tumbling down in a scream of breaking glass between you. 

But you’re too late to do anything about Dave, he’s right in front of that sick needle thing now, right under that red eye that just stared curiously. He tried to yank his sword out and failed, stifled a yell. You sure wish Jade could teleport right now, but she can’t so you drop the boys and run for Dave, with no idea what the fuck to do about the thing. 

 

From this angle you can’t tell if that thing is inside him, but it makes you sick to know it could be. There’s fluid either coming out of it or being pulled in--maybe you can break it, you think as you flip around another thrasing wet lash of white. Roxy’s flying straight at Dave, screaming and desperate, you hope to god she can get to him in time. You hear Jake swear as he gives up on his guns, feel the atmosphere change as his hands and eyes turn white. 

Jade gives up on the tentacle at last and with a frustrated **ENOUGH!** dashes and flies straight at it, even faster than Roxy. She skids and flips around the tail of the thing trying to catch her like she knows the perfect trayectory to take but she still isn’t fast enough, none of you are--

Dave lets out a scream and as if in answer, from behind, Karkat screams NO!, loud and desperate. There’s a flash of red you can’t explain and you hear a loud glass snap that the thing doesn’t seem to know how to react to. The red expands, envelops, bubbles Dave up in it, forcing the tentacle to strain to try to contain it. Quickly it balloons far too wide for the tentacle to keep squeezing effectively. 

At that moment you feel a bizarre _doubling_ , like you suddenly have two sets of senses and double the brain power. The other you is here--it seems Jake got desperate enough to stop relying on his toys and take out his ace card, his most lethal weapon. With the other Dirk’s eyes you look backwards at your boyfriend as you keep moving forward, watch him stand there beautifully. His eyes are white mist that goes down forever, his hands vaguely spread in your direction. He looks ethereal and focused, fighting with the thing he believes in the most. 

Karkat’s reaching out with wide disbelieving eyes and a red sort of pulsing in his hand, a red string softly tying him to Dave’s red circle. He snaps into action then and yanks, tears Dave free of the thing’s grasp and freeing up Roxy to take her Rifle back up. She gets in position under the thing right as Jade takes hers above it, and both of them press the heads of their rifles against the dull metal grey housing that empty red eye.

Two blasts fire and it goes wild, white lashes slamming the girls away back towards the elevator shaft. It’s badly damaged and unpredictable now, it takes all your brainpower just to follow it’s movement--which makes it a good thing you’ve got double that right now. 

In your head or the head of the you that exists in Jake’s head or some other incredibly stupid nonsense like that, you hear Jake’s thoughts, feel the words out as the other you’s eyes turn away from your friends behind you and onto that gnashing, melting thing.

It’s a command, a simple order.

_Go on, old sport. Break that motherfucker._

It’s a strange feeling, like you’re doing everything twice simultaneously, like your actions themselves have an exponential sort of effect on the world. Like this it’s so easy. You jog lightly at the tentacle thrashing close to you on the left side--claw it halfway open with a smart swipe, then watch as an afterimage of your own arm makes a similar but slightly different slash a second after--it’s too fast for most people to notice, but right now you’re not exactly a person, forget about most people. In an instant it’s severed, the white goop having to close over it’s new ending to try to rebuild itself.

DIRK: So. You’re the one he told me about. Brain Ghost Dirk?   
(DIRK): It’s looking like just Dirk right now, my man.  
(DIRK): Hey, this is a pretty sweet deal you’ve got going.   
(DIRK): This physical existence shit is tight as fuck. These memories are something else, Jake’s dick actually feels like that?  
DIRK: Not that I can blame you, dude, but maybe don’t think about that right now.  
DIRK: We’ve got a job to do, remember?  
(DIRK): Please. As if we couldn’t do this sleepwalking.  
(DIRK): But fine, I’ll shut up. Hey, any chance you could convince him to pull this shit off while you’re fucking? Or maybe just holding hands or whatever, I’m not picky.   
DIRK: Christ. Even when I don’t exist, I’m still thirsty as shit.  
DIRK: I’ll put in a good word for you, ok? Now focus.  
(DIRK): I never stopped focusing, and you know it.   
DIRK: Ugh. I hate talking to me.   


You don’t wait for the gross mechahorror to react to your amputation. You hop gently up to the hissing, shaking box and meet it shades to eye. Your sword at an angle ( _No, dude, at two angles_ ), you hover over it. You wonder if it’ll figure out how to move its limbs again quickly enough to try to stop you, but you know it won’t matter now. Not when you have to live up to him believing in you. 

 

That red eye reminds you of someone. But you actually felt bad about killing that guy. 

You don’t feel bad about this. The slam of metal on metal, sparks and deep bites appearing where you swing wildly and brutally, your lips don’t make a sound a sound as you shatter the eye and then shatter it again and shatter it again and once more and then another time after. Cracks appear and multiply, iterated many times, expand and rupture until glass falls and soon you can see black hollow and wire instead of the red glass, and your sword thrusts delicately and smoothly in. 

 

The thing grows still quietly, and then it just slumps and ceases to move. Like a broken toy. 

You let yourself fall back to the ground and notice you’re shaking.

DAVE: jesus...dick,   


He’s quiet as he slumps against Karkat’s arms. Jake’s eyes are emerald green again, and he’s breathing hard with wide eyes staring right at you. Jade and Roxy are walking back over to you, unhurt except for Roxy holding her head and Jade holding her broken glasses.

KARKAT: I….I….  
DAVE: that was you right   
DAVE: you saved me, dude. that thing was literally touching my hot abs, fuck  
KARKAT: HOW CAN YOU JOKE ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW???  
DAVE: well i mean i wasnt useful or anything, i figured i probably couldnt score a heroic death.   
KARKAT: YEAH, BUT--  
DAVE: dude.  
DAVE: that was freaky as hell and i dont want to think about it.  
DAVE: you saved my ass and you’re a hero now can you just live with that and not make me talk about it anymore, thanks.   
KARKAT: OH. YEAH, OK I GUESS.   


They both still look shaken. You can relate.

JADE: oh my god guys im sooo sorry D: D: D:   
JADE: what even WAS that???  
ROXY: eh its not ur fault  
DIRK: It isn’t. Me and Roxy know more about the batterwitch’s fucked up crap than anyone.  
DIRK: I’ve never heard anything about...THAT.  
DIRK: To me it looked like some kind of rudimentary AI, operating biological components.  
DIRK: Maybe horrorterror components. It’s all I can think of, to be honest.   
DIRK: The gross shit she involved herself really was endless.  
ROXY: makes me wish i could stab her again tqbh  
DIRK: Ditto.   
JADE: well...maybe thats quite enough adventure for now then. we should go home, i’m sorry this turned out so horribly :(   
DAVE: what no way  
DAVE: i’m not letting me getting caught like a chump be our big mission report to rose absolutely not   
DAVE: we know what to expect a LITTLE better now and anyway there cant be that many things like this in here right  
DIRK: Um. Maybe. I’d rather be on the safe side though.   
DAVE: ugh not you too look lets at LEAST check this room out, you all went to so much trouble to clear it   
DAVE: i’ll do a little double duty scoping shit out and standing guard while you guys chill for a bit hows that sound  
KARKAT: DAVE…  
DAVE: dude, it’s fine, i’m not mad or hung up on this or anything. i just wanna help.   
ROXY: augh stop...ur being too cute  
ROXY: fine ill throw my vote in with u cant say no 2 ma bby boy  
DAVE: YES thanks mom youre the best   
DAVE: do i get a lunch box for my big boy field trip   
ROXY: lmao sorry bud u shoulda given me a heads up  
DAVE: dammit  
DAVE: oh well i have some aj on me  


He gets up and pops one out of his sylladex. You suddenly feel extremely tired, and take the opportunity to sit down and settle against the base of a test tube.

DIRK: A it turns out, i’m pretty fucking beat. I could use the chance to rest here for a spell.  
DIRK: Fine, you get my vote too, which means you get Jake’s also.  
JAKE: Hey!  
DIRK: Am I wrong?  
JAKE: No, but you could do with being a little less presumptuous about it >:/   
DIRK: Right. Sorry.   


You’d be more sarcastic about it, but you really are tired. Your head is starting to hurt, and you feel the need to press your hand against your temple. Jake notices you’re off, you guess, because he doesn’t press you and sits next to you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and drawing you close. That does help. 

Jade and Roxy sit too. Roxy cross legged, Jade with her arms around her knees. Dave and Karkat walk off.

DIRK: Maybe...  
DIRK: We should experiment a little before we try mixing powers like that again.   
JAKE: Um. Yeah that sounds like a swell idea, i’m sorry man. Are you alright?  
DIRK: I’ll be fine, I think. It just...took a lot out of me.   
JADE: are you guys really sure about this? i still feel terrible…  
JADE: so much for being the best there is at adventures :(   
JADE: i’d wanted to impress you, too.   
DIRK: Says the girl who flew up to an eldritch horrorbot and noscoped it at point blank range.  
DIRK: It’s not like it was a spatial ambush. None of us could have seen that shit coming.   
DIRK: How does it even work? You guys practically tore it in half.  
ROXY: id almost want to study it if it wasnt so fckin gross  
JADE: heheh.   
JADE: ...ok.  
JADE: thanks dirk.   
JADE: jake was right about you, you’re a lot like dave.  
JADE: you’re a pretty sweet guy. :)  
JAKE: See, jade, i told ya! That’s my dirk.   


_My Dirk_. Thank god you feel too shitty to get a boner. You didn't want to get a boner in front of Jake's sweet, scary Grandma. He jostles you by the shoulder when he says it, and you slump deeper against his chest and let the scent of him soothe your throbbing forehead. Think about him grown up and taking care of someone, missing you. You’re thinking of something witty to say when you lose consciousness.

JAKE: Ppst, wake up chap.  
JAKE: Awful sorry to disturb you but you really got to get in on this!   


He’s gentle and quiet about waking you, but you snap to alertness in an instant. Take stock: Headache is gone, limbs seem stable. Good, so it wasn’t anything lasting. You figured as much--nothing Jake did to you could really be all that bad. 

It’s brighter in here now. Not in that fluorescent, pale way Roxy had done, either--the lights were just on. Now you could see the blood coming out of that thing was purple, and it was kind of all over everything--especially you. Dave, Jade, Karkat and Roxy were fussing over something, facing the monster’s wall. Jake had gotten the inglorious task of babying you.

DIRK: Shit...how long have I been out?   
JAKE: Not very long, maybe half an hour or so.  
JAKE: To hear dave tell it he’s been figuring stuff out here for hours but he only had to drop by to ask jade and roxy questions a handful of times, your bro’s a remarkably quick friggin study!  
DIRK: Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me much.  
JAKE: How are you feeling buddy?   
DIRK: I’m fine. Whatever fucked me up, it passed. Now I’m just kind of embarrassed.  
JAKE: Aw nonsense, jade and roxy kept gushing about how cute we looked it was great!   
DIRK: Awesome. That really makes me feel better.   
JAKE: I don’t really like how ashamed you are of showing me a little affection in public :(  
DIRK: Ugh. Damn. As usual you’re too cute to resist.   
DIRK: Fine, you win, whatever, we’re fucking adorable. Are you happy?  
JAKE: Yes thats much better! :D8   
JAKE: But seriously we should get over there, it looks like dave found something BIG!  
DIRK: Woah. How big are we talking?  
JAKE: Well they found a bunch of what roxy thinks are genetic samples that were even more super stashed in a secret compartment sealed by a cryptic password lock.   
JAKE: The compartment had sweet bro’s face on it and through that iconography dave was able to deduce the password was 8^y.  
DIRK: Jake, are you fucking with me?   
JAKE: I would never, dirk! Scout’s honor.   


You start walking toward the others at a brisk pace.

DIRK: So what was inside?   
JAKE: Well those vials i mentioned that roxy’s pretty excited about.  
JAKE: But also...some kind of disc? Dave called it a “vinyl” i believe.   
JAKE: He figured out he could stick it in a machine that connected to that big screen.   
JAKE: Then he got the power on and found what seems to be a remote for it! They’re trying to turn it on now.   
DIRK: Huh. Ok. So what’s the hold up--  


There is no hold up. Just as you reach them, Dave figures something out and points at the screen with the remote, pressing a button. It flickers and sheens to life. 

He presses what must be play because an image flicks onto the screen. 

Jake immediately takes hold of your hand. 

You hear swears. Dave’s holy shit, Jade’s oh my goodness, Karkat’s OH MY FUCKING HELL. 

Roxy doesn’t speak, though.  
You don’t speak either.  
You don’t know how to breathe. 

He has the same shades but he’s older, so much older. He looks gaunt and tired and fit and atrophied somehow, worn down and nearly extinguished. He looks nervous and stressed, with his hand in his hair. He’s in a lab of some kind, in a room that could be very close to this one or halfway across the planet. 

You could be wrong about this, you could definitely be wrong about this, but

You think you see a woman’s back half bent over, purple satin that could be a dress pooling on the floor. Roxy is as still as a statue. You want to touch her but you can’t even move.  
You notice you’re holding Jake’s hand incredibly tightly, hard enough to hurt, but you can’t loosen your muscles. Anyway, he just squeezes back even harder. 

Tick. Tock.

He speaks.

DAVE: i really dont even know why im doing this  
DAVE: doesnt make a whole bunch of sense to record a message for someone whos never gonna step foot out of their house  
DAVE: forget about staying in this literal UNIVERSE   
DAVE: but ive done weirder things for worse reasons i guess   
DAVE: the bottom line is   
DAVE: rose has a hunch   
DAVE: and i have a feeling  
DAVE: and i guess it doesnt matter because in about twenty minutes we’re going to go finish off this ridiculous pointless suicide mission   
DAVE: maybe i’ll get a dent in her or something but then i guess by now you’ll know exactly how that went down.   
DAVE: but  
DAVE: i want to do this   
DAVE: because i want to believe i was able to talk to you, once, somehow.   
DAVE: i dont know how it could be possible its probably the fake as shit delusions of a stupid sad old dude   
DAVE: but maybe its fine for me to just be what i am this one last time  


It’s so silent. You’re so silent. Nothing exists but this.

ROSE: You know, you come off a lot cooler when you don’t indulge your rambling in front of the camera.  
ROSE: I’d thought you wanted to impress him?   
DAVE: man you’ll get your turn just chill ok   
DAVE: throwing me off my groove i was about to get a good rap going   
ROSE: You were not, but I’ll be patient. I need to finish backing these data sets up anyway. If you’re listening to this, I’ll provide the code to the lower chambers later.   
ROSE: Continue.  
DAVE: ok fine sheesh  
DAVE: anyway, listen little dude, or big dude, or maybe not a dude? whoever you are, listening to this.   
DAVE: i really hope its you dirk but if its one of the others its fine so long as they get it to you.   
DAVE: i dont know as much as rose about all this stuff  
DAVE: for her there was so much to it, she just knew it all like this big story laid out for her  
DAVE: but i only ever got flashes, tiny moments i could peep through   
DAVE: like some kinda weird lifetime voyeur of various points on the big A timeline   
DAVE: mostly about the other dave but not always   
DAVE: and i dont know anything that happens after you start your session, rose thinks that has something to do with...  
DAVE: nevermind actually   
DAVE: the point is   
DAVE: i dont know how things turn out for you  
DAVE: but i believe you’re gonna be great, just totally biznasty awesome  
DAVE: and probably you all totally win that thing and touchdown in the hoop for the rest of us   
DAVE: but thats not really what i care about   
DAVE: what you do after you leave my house is your business and we’ve done all we can   
DAVE: i just want to tell you   
DAVE: you weren’t alone in that room.   
DAVE: neither of you were.   
DAVE: i couldnt control it well but i made sure to pop in as often as i could for y’all  
DAVE: and rose’s weird vision purveyed over every awkward teen moment i promise you   
DAVE: we tried everything we could do to make things a little better for you, a little easier  
DAVE: i just hope it was good enough.   
DAVE: jake if you’re there your grandma sends her love   
DAVE: she asked me to take care of you right before it happened and i knew she knew something but i just didn’t see it coming in time  
DAVE: but i’ve been looking after you too lil bud   
DAVE: i’m sorry. i wish i could’ve saved her.   


Jake’s breath hitches, reminding you comfortingly that he exists. There are tears in his eyes and you wish wish wish you could fix all of it for him, save him from this. You don’t know how.

DAVE: i wish...so many things, i guess   
DAVE: but i wish i’d gotten to talk to you about him, dirk  
DAVE: he’s a special kid. you both are.   
DAVE: im p sure you’re good on the jake front, you should see how he talks about you when you’re not around   
DAVE: you really don’t need to worry that much.   
DAVE: also, about the stuff with Dave’s bro.  
DAVE: if you listen to anything ive ever said to you, listen to this little dude:  
DAVE: you’re nothing like him. you never will be.  
DAVE: take it from someone who watched it unfold as a grown up even if i didn’t get everything  
DAVE: dude was fucked up  
DAVE: you’re not.   
DAVE: you’re a good kid. you hear me?   
DAVE: a good kid.   
DAVE: i dont know if kid me knows that   
DAVE: he might not right away  
DAVE: but hang tight and he’ll come around ok?  
DAVE: he’ll love you. i know it because i do.   


The world spins around you. You can’t believe that you’re listening to this, you can’t wrap your head around that it’s even possible. Your eyes are swimming and you can’t even bring yourself to hide the tears, Roxy and Jake are looking at you wildly curious you know it but there’s no hiding the relief of something like this. This absolute exoneration. This assurance.

DAVE: i guess if you see john tell him hes an awesome comedian   
DAVE: old dude always did know how to make me laugh   
DAVE: and by the way he loves you too jane   
DAVE: also tell him thanks for the shades   
DAVE: that was how i started remembering   
DAVE: and…  


Suddenly, a loud meow intrudes on the magic he’s spinning, this impossibly painful and beautiful speech. He groans as a black cat with bright red eyes jumps onto his lap. Some kind of mutant.

DAVE: shut the hell up karkat this is kind of a big deal ok  


There’s a breathy, harsh moan and yeah, christ, you know the feeling. 

The act of saying the name seems to drain the old man on the screen, surely no older than fifty but a sick fifty, a dying fifty, a fifty that is too weary to fight. Even though you know for a fact he fights anyway.

DAVE: i have some stuff to say about him too  
DAVE: but before i say that i just want to say this one last thing   
DAVE: all the movies were for you dirk  
DAVE: every last one  
DAVE: it was the only way i could think to reach you  
DAVE: it was the same for rose and her books   
ROSE: I’ll thank you not to speak my parts for me, Dave.   
DAVE: there arent any others unless the batterwitch tried to fuck with them, condemn some to obscurity.   
DAVE: they were just my way of trying to reach you.  
DAVE: and i dont think she could pull it off completely if she tried, the internets too fucking good.  
DAVE: people are too fucking good.  
DAVE: they’ll carry on anything anyone else makes even if they don’t understand it.  
DAVE: even if its some sloppy tryhard garbage.  
ROSE: They’re a fair bit better than that, Dave. You did try.   


He doesn’t even seem to hear her. He’s lost in his reverie entirely, lost in this final message.

DAVE: maybe you feel sorry for us but dont, we lived full lives and it was worth it.   
DAVE: every second of it was worth it, because we lived them for you.  
DAVE: dont ever give up on that or on each other, thats the worst thing you can ever do.   
DAVE: ok i think thats all the sage dadly wisdom i have on hand.  
DAVE: sorry theres not more of it little man.   


Your breathing is coming too fast, you feel wrong and exposed and vulnerable with tears on your face like this, but Dave and Jade and Karkat belong to the man on the screen right now and you belong to Jake and Roxy anyway so who cares how they see you, who cares about being strong around them now, they lived it too, they understand the feeling. 

Jake doesn’t let go of your hand, mercifully he just twists around and hugs you to him hard and strong. You don’t know how Roxy found the ability to move but she does and she’s here with you too, holding both of you to her. Your eyes don’t move off his face but you know they’re protecting you so you let yourself be weak and dawdle and hem and haw on the way he said that, on the implications of the word Dad. 

The Dave on the screen withers somehow, spent at last entirely. There’s just exhaustion and a steel nerve of resolve. He looks down at the cat again.

DAVE: if you see Kar--  


He fails. He licks his lips. He tries again.

DAVE: WHEN you see Karkat--  


His adam’s apple bobs uncomfortably.

DAVE: Karkat. If you’re hearing this…   


He is. He is, and he’s enthralled, you can only see the back of him but it’s the only time you can think of that he’s been utterly speechless. Somehow a thought occurs to you: You can see why Dave loves the guy so much. It’s hard to resist someone who can literally envelop you in love. Save your life with it, no less.

DAVE: i...i dont remember much. Just these tiny flashes of how it started, what it felt like.   
DAVE: like i said everything that happens after the meteor is a mystery to me.  
DAVE: i just know--  
DAVE: fuck, no. nevermind that, i don’t know anything.   
DAVE: i just wish...  
DAVE: i could have seen you. with my own eyes.   
DAVE: just once.  
DAVE: just once would have been nice.   


He says that last bit in a slow drawl, a dreamy sort of speech, a wistful slow dying of words. 

Something in his face seems to twist and break open, like that line of resolve you detected was starting to fray, like admitting the unfairness of it might genuinely stop him from moving forward. 

That’s when Rose walks into the frame and comes into view. Roxy’s breath hisses in and Jake pulls a little bit (too far) away from you, just enough that he can see the screen again. 

She’s tall, graceful, her beautiful hair cut immaculately, and there is gentle murder in her hands. She rubs at Dave’s back like she’s gently threading together the loose threads of his last nerve, steeling him for what comes next. An executioner, leading a sheep to the slaughterhouse. It would be easy to hate her for it if she wasn’t also on the block. 

 

She looks directly at the camera. No, that’s not right. You know it with a certainty:

She’s not looking at anyone but Roxy. 

She smiles a wry little smile.

ROSE: He said most of what I had to say, I’m afraid. He’s always been a bit of a blabbermouth.   
ROSE: But I’m sure you know that.   
ROSE: That stuff about people being good? Pure gold.   
ROSE: I could have said it better myself, but not nearly with as much conviction.  
ROSE: That’s only because I’m not as good as he is, however. He’s right about it. Believe him.   
ROSE: I’m not as good as you, either, Roxy.  
ROSE: You clever, clever girl.  
ROSE: I love your wizard stories. I read all of them over your shoulder, while you were writing.  
ROSE: Sorry. I wish I could’ve asked for permission. I don’t think the...the other me much appreciated being spied upon.   


A tiny, strangled sob comes out of her and she curls up on herself, holding her chest, and suddenly you know where she found that strength from before:  
It doesn’t matter how you feel. You have to be there for her. Jake knows too and follows, and you’re both holding her, you’re stroking her back quietly. Jake does the work of looking at her, making sure she’s okay for you. But you and Roxy never take your eyes off the screen.

ROSE: The password is Friggspers:3. All capitals, and a colon and three at the end, like a cat face.  
ROSE: Look at me, trying to explain memes to a teenage girl like an old woman. You’ll figure it out.   
ROSE: I wrote you letters. Dave left voice recordings.  
ROSE: Jade and John left their own messages, too. You won’t believe this, but John wrote all of his exclusively on the front covers of copies of Colonel Sassacre’s.  
ROSE: He said it’d be hilarious. I’ve come to agree.   
ROSE: It should all be storage chambers C, A, and L.  
ROSE: Along with genetic samples for all sorts of flora and fauna in case you want to recreate them.   
ROSE: And maybe a couple of books I never published. Dave may be earnest to a fault, but I’m not quite that unreserved.  
ROSE: Or maybe I just want to make my fantasies a little more romantic.  
ROSE: Leave you something more dramatic to look forward to.   
ROSE: Either way, I wish I could assure you it’s all still there, but I can’t.  
ROSE: You won’t find those storage chambers on any blueprints or files, we made damn sure to keep them hidden. Now that you know they exist, Jade should be able to find them.   
ROSE: But the Condesce might have found them regardless. If so, I’m sorry.  
ROSE: This really is all I can offer.   


She hesitates. Chokes on her breath. But it’s only for a moment.

ROSE: I love you, Roxy.   
ROSE: All of you. So very, very much.   
ROSE: If Jaspers--or, Frigglish, if that’s what you’re calling him-- is around, give him a pet for me. He was a very good cat.   
ROSE: And…  
ROSE: Be a dear and give my regards to Kanaya for me, won’t you, Roxy?  
ROSE: It isn’t my place to say it, I don’t have a counterpart for her or anything.  
ROSE: I imagine if that Rose is anything like me she will meet my admission with a bit of jealousy, and I can’t blame her. Gotta make sure the brand is up to snuff.   
ROSE: But it’s still true.  
ROSE: I love you, Kanaya.   
ROSE: I’ve missed you dearly.   


She lets the sentiment linger for a second. Then for two. Then for three.

Then it’s over, and her hand leaves Dave’s shoulder.

ROSE: She’s here, Dave. It’s time to go.   
ROSE: Goodbye, kids. Take care of each other.   


She doesn’t look back when she walks out, head high and proud.  
Dave smiles, a sardonic thing that laughs in the face of tragedy.

DAVE: See you around.   


The screen flicks off. 

You’re all very, very quiet. You stand around gaping at each other, tear-stained and obliterated, trying to come to grips with what the fuck just happened. Your eyes meet with Dave and wow, wow, that’s way more than you can handle and he agrees, you both recoil from it. You still keep one eye on Jade and Karkat embracing him, though. 

The first sound that appears is double: You can hear both Jake and Karkat crying. Not too loud, not too dramatic. Just a few hics and sobs just a little too audible. Roxy sits on the floor, pressed up against the test tube, her shoulders shaking. You can hear her too, if you try. 

Are you crying? You can’t tell. You can’t think well enough. You stumble over to Roxy like a drunkard and collapse against her. You offer your hand and she wraps hers around it but looks away from you. Jake sits on your other side and pulls you close, softly brushes his hand through your hair. You accept it like a puppet. You don’t think you can feel things but maybe it’s starting to help. 

Dave shuffles over to you, hands in his pockets, Karkat and Jade trailing behind. You look at each other, three for three.

DAVE: um. holy shit.  
DIRK: No kidding.   


Neither of you laughs, but it does lighten the mood a little. Probably. How should you be feeling right now? Was that the worst moment of your life, or the greatest? Something makes you settle on the latter. You don’t know how you’re ever going to leave this building if you can’t take that recording with you somehow.

DAVE: look uh  
DAVE: he seemed to know what he was talking about  
DAVE: and i think we’re pretty tight but you dont tell me EVERYTHING.   
DAVE: so  
DAVE: for what its worth  
DAVE: he was right about that stuff.   


You can hear Jake softly ask what stuff but Dave doesn’t answer and you don’t either. You know what stuff. There were going to be questions later, but as it turns out, you did have feelings left. You bit hard at your lips and tried not to start crying again. Too much, this was all too much too quickly.

DIRK: Yeah. Ok. Thanks.   
DAVE: i mean it.  


He sounds grave and deadly serious and he’s looking at you hard over the rim of his glasses in a way that makes him look older. You got so used to thinking of yourself as basically his Dad, and there was some truth to that. But it was really so much more complicated, wasn’t it? 

Jade speaks up and her voice reminds you of him, of both of them. Full of resolve.

JADE: you guys go home, get some rest.  
JADE: i’m gonna find those storage units, i’ll call you.   


You and Roxy both just laugh. It’s a genuine laugh. It’s kind of starting to hurt less, starting to turn into something that feels nice. Voice recordings. He left you voice recordings.

DIRK: I don’t think we could move from this spot if we wanted to, Jade.  
DIRK: But I’ll compromise and stay out of your way while you do whatever you gotta.  
DIRK: We might want to call the others. If we can’t get that...thing back to Can Town, they need to see it.  
DIRK: Jane needs to see it. Won’t feel right until she does.   
KARKAT: I’LL SEND SOME MESSAGES HOME AND EXPLAIN, I GUESS.   
JADE: ok. cool.   
JADE: sit tight then, guys.   


But she doesn’t leave without bending over to give the three of you little pats on the shoulder. One for each. If you were standing you’d definitely be in for a hug.  
She really was a great girl. But you suppose you should have known that. 

She walks with purpose and energy away from you, heading into the room with the 8^y storage cabinet as she pulls the blueprints out of her sylladex. Karkat shuffles off with an apologetic look at Dave, pulling out his Husktop so he doesn’t have to speak out loud. 

Just the three of you and Dave, then.

JAKE: Dirk...what did he mean by that?  
JAKE: You told me things were kind of rough with you and dave but...what exactly happened?  
ROXY: I wanna kno 2  
ROXY: 4 the recordz ur in big big biiig trouble for not giving me the scoop on w/e the fuck THAT was   


You can’t help but laugh. Aw man, shit got real now.

DIRK: It isn’t…  
DIRK: Look. It’s heavy shit.   
DIRK: You’re going to press me on it and I’ll tell you, but can it be later?  
DIRK: I just...I just can’t right now.   
DAVE: im gonna go ahead and second that motion  
DAVE: trust me the dude has a good reason   
JAKE: Um...alright.  
JAKE: But if...you don’t want to talk, then...   
JAKE: Do you need me around right now, Dirk?  
JAKE: I’ll stay if you do, but i thought maybe i could be helpful for Jade.  
JAKE: I’d really rather be taking some sort of action right now, this is…  
DIRK: Yeah. I get it. I’m alright, Jake, I think I’m coming out of it.   
DIRK: You go help Jade. You know where to find me.   


He smiles and even now, even this numb and burnt out and tired, it warms your heart.  
God you love him. He jumps up and dashes into the room after her, probably prudent since who knows where she might have gotten to by now. 

Dave stands there. Hesitates. 

Slowly, slowly, sits down in the space Jake emptied. 

After a little while, the three of you start to talk. 

A little while after that,

Jade messages you. 

You run fast.


End file.
